FIFA likely a Wii U launch title

One of EA Sports' senior executives has dropped a strong hint that a Wii U version of the venerable football franchise will be available to buy alongside the home console when it launches next year.

"FIFA has the great fortune of being invited to all the VIP parties," EA Sports' senior vice president of worldwide development Andrew Wilson teased when we asked him whether FIFA will be a Wii U launch title.

The Wii U's most unique feature is its controller: it has a touch-screen built in and can display content sent wirelessly from the console.

So, how may FIFA Wii U work with it?

"This concept of cleaning up everything you see on the big screen and putting all that here [on the controller screen], is an interesting proposition," Wilson said.

"We don't have that problem solved, but the opportunity to change the way you interact with a game based on moving everything from the HUD to here, is interesting.

"The radar can go there. You could trigger wing play. You could play an offside trap here. There are a whole bunch of things you could do here that before, you had to remember a two-button combination or a d-pad combination, or you had to see it represented up on a screen, which meant if anyone else was watching they saw it."

During Nintendo's press conference EA boss John Riccitiello took to the stage to pledge the publisher's support for the Wii U.

A number of games are being explored for the system - but FIFA looks like a dead cert.

Wilson insisted the Wii U version won't include gimmicky features that make use of the console's unique features just for the sake of it.

"Between now and when that launches, we'll be working diligently to make sure it adds value, that it's not a gimmick, but it truly adds value," he said.

"As a FIFA gamer, if I could have touch-screen controls that said wing play, offside trap, push forward, pull back – all these things that no longer were assigned to a d-pad – I would feel pretty good about it.

"I'm sure we're going to do more than that, but as the lowest common denominator, that would be pretty cool. That would change the way I play."

Wii U is due out at some point in 2012. Will it be out before or after FIFA 13?